


What Lurks In The Dark // Alec Lightwood X OC

by AngelBane42



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-05-02 14:50:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19201099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelBane42/pseuds/AngelBane42
Summary: This is a Shadowhunter Fanfic between Alec Lightwood and an OC called Simone Fray. Simone and Clary are twins, but Things get complicated when they discover the shadow world.





	1. NOTE

All Characters with the exception of my OC belong to the magnificent and lovely Cassandra Clare. I know Alec is Gay in the Books and Tv show and I 100% respect that. trust me no one ships Malec more them me. But this is an Alec Lightwood X Female OC. i’m so sorry if that offends any of you and I understand if you don’t want to read the Fanfic because of that. But I have done my best and hope you enjoy. This is based on the Tv Show Shadowhunters. I own and have read all The Mortal Instruments so there may be a few references thrown in. This is my fist fanfic so please be kind. I will be updating this story once a week (hopefully) and maybe more if it is desired. -Angel


	2. Chapter One - Gone

Walking home after spending the night out, I came to a halt outside my loft.

"What the-" I frowned. There was shattered glass scattered across the pavers from the windows, but not a sound to be heard. I ran up the stairs as fast as I could.

"Mum? Clary?" I shouted. I heard a crash from upstairs, and I bolted, hoping to find my mother or sister, or even my mum's boyfriend, Luke. Instead, I found a dark-haired girl, standing in my charred bedroom, cursing at the broken chair she tripped over. She wore several inky black tattoos and rather revealing clothes.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded. Her head snapped up.

"I'm Isabelle, you're Breeanna Fray?" she asked quickly.

"Uh yeah, why are you in my house?"

"Your sister, Clary mentioned you and I came to find you to bring you to safety," she replied, drawing the curtains back and peering outside.

"Clary? Safety? What happened?" I asked. Looking around eagerly, I took in the sight of my scorched home and my chest tightened.

"Look we aren't safe here, come with me and I can explain on the way, but we need to get out of the house." Her words were laced with concern and she kept looking out the window.

"Give me a reason to trust you," I demanded crossing my arms. I didn't even know if this girl knew where Clary was, let alone if she was trying to help me.

"Are you willing to risk your mother and Clary by not coming with me?" she challenged.  After a moment of hesitation, I folded and allowed her to lead the way.

 

Isabelle kept a fast pace as she led me through the streets of New York. I wavered when she walked up to an old abandoned church.

"Uh, I'm not going in there, no way."  Isabelle was having none of it though and pulled me through the large double doors by my wrist. She walked rapidly through the first room, which was full of screens and tablets and all things technological, and up some steps into a section that held two boys, a bed and, my sister.

"Jace! I found her!" Isabelle called, she then turned to me,

"This is Jace, and that, is my brother Alec." I turned to her brother and felt a comfortable aroura about him

"Oh good, there's two of them," the tall dark-haired boy said sarcastically, rolling his eyes while I raised an amused eyebrow. It seemed I was not the only one that Clary irritated recently.  "Breeanna Fray, at your service," I gave a mock bow before ignoring him and turning to the blonde and Clary,

"Dude, somebody fill me in?"  I asked desperately.

"Well, I ran into your sister here last night at Pandemonium and found out she has the sight. She was attacked by a demon back at your loft after your mother was taken, where I saved her and carried her back here. She woke up, mentioned you, and I got Isabelle to track you down, and now you're here," Jace brushed over everything like it wasn't a big deal, and to him, I presume it wasn't.  I nodded, absorbing the information.

"Uh-huh, okay. One question though," Jace nodded for me to continue,

"Demons?"

"Ah, yeah well you see, we're Shadowhunters - half angel, half human, we protect the mundanes from demons. Everything you ever heard about is true, vampires, werewolves, faeries, all of it, they're called Downworlders," Jace explained wisely.  I shrugged,

"Okay, so why am I here?"

"What no more questions? No stop deceiving me, no you're lying, get me out of here?" Alec fired from the corner,

"Your sister had plenty."

"In case you hadn't noticed, we're different people," I glared but kept my voice level and calm, "And I have no reason to believe that you lot dragged me all the way out here to then lie to me. So, I'll ask again, why I am here?"  Alec looked slightly taken aback but didn't say anything while Isabelle snorted.

"Apparently our mother hid some cup from some guy and everyone in this Downworld thinks we either have it or know where it is," Clary mumbled, evidently irritated,

"but we don't and all I care about is finding Mum."  I saw Alec roll his eyes again and even Jace looked like he was getting a little fed up.

"Clary, look, I get that you want to find Mum, and I do too, but I doubt these guys, some of which clearly would rather not be talking to us right now, would have gone through all this trouble of saving you and finding me, if this cup wasn't important. Clearly neither of us know where it is, but the least we can do is try to help." I was always the more logical twin but trying to reason with Clary was somewhat problematic.

"This cup can control demons and create new Shadowhunters, and that guy wants to wipe out the entire Downworld, so yeah its important," Alec muttered.  I raised my hand and gestured at him before looking back to my sister,

"There you go." I twisted to face Isabelle and Jace,

"So, what can we do?"  Before anyone could answer, Clary's phone started ringing and Isabelle led Alec from the room giggling.

"Simon," she breathed, before answering.  Despite it not being set to speaker, I could still hear Simon; he had a tendency of yelling into the phone.

"How come you haven't answered your phone in two days?"

"Things are... all torn apart," she replied.

"Where are you? Find My Friends says your phone is in an abandoned church on Deighton. I'm outside."  Clary not so gracefully stumbled to the window and looked down.

"I see you," she sighed in relief.

"I don't see you."

"Give me five minutes. I have to get dressed."  It was actually only then that I noticed she only had a very large, loose t-shirt on and I snorted.

"Dressed? What are you doing undressed in an abandoned church? Clary is there... is there a meth problem we have to talk about?" this made my snort again,

"Simon, just give me five minutes, okay?" With that, Clary hung up and walked back to Jace who was sat on the bed, looking over Clary's sketches.

"Um, what, uh... what happened to my clothes?"  Jace smirked,

"Demon venom. Remember? Isabelle left you these." He pointed to some black, leather looking things, trying to keep his face straight. When Clary picked up the clothes I saw why and tried to contain my laughter.

"You're kidding, right?" If she thought this was a joke, Clary was not entertained.

"She's very comfortable with her body," Jace shrugged, his mouth twitching up at the corners.  I followed Jace out while Clary got dressed after she attacked him about tattooing her, and he led me down through the tech room, Isabelle brought me in through, which I was informed was actually called the Op Centre.

 

Clary ran down after us and caught up very quickly. I couldn’t help it and snorted again, taking in what she was wearing.

"You're not gonna kill Simon, are you?" Clary all but begged.

"Protect the humans, kill the demons. You'll get it eventually," Jace answered without looking at her.  He pushed open the door and I saw a very anxious looking Simon at the bottom of the church steps.

"So, why can't Simon see you?" Clary asked.

"Wait, Simon can't see you?" I interrupted.  Jace shook his head and looked at me, pulling his t-shirt up a fraction, revealing some kind of tattoo - the same ones I had seen on Isabelle.

"This is a glamour, a rune that makes me invisible to mundanes. It's a shame, really, cause... well, denying them all this." He waved his hands over his body.

"Yeah, dreadful it would have been if I'd never met you," I replied sarcastically. If I'd never met him, it would be because nobody took my mother, and nobody was after us.  Simon ran forward, shrugging off his jacket and placing it around Clary's shoulders.

"What do you have on, Clary? Let me take you home," It was as if he'd only just noticed me when he tacked onto the end,

"You too Breeanna."

“Thanks, I feel so loved.” He gave a half apologetic smile.

"I don't think I have one anymore, or anybody left," Clary whispered.  I coughed and pointed at myself with an over dramatic hand gesture but neither of them even looked at me. Jace on the other hand chuckled and I just threw my hands up in the air,

"Really?"  While Simon was asking what she meant, Clary was about to explain, and Jace had turned back to watch Clary, I spotted a man lurking in the shadows. I tapped Jace hard in the back of his head and he turned to glare at me, but I nodded my head to the trees and his eyes widened.

"Clary and Breeanna Fairchild!" He shouted at us.  Jace sprung up and wrapped an arm around the attacker's neck before plunging a glowing sword - which he'd drew out of nowhere - into his stomach.

"Jace!" Clary ran from Simon's arms leaving him looking around, completely confused. My sister pointed to the body now by her feet,

"Is he dead?"

“No, he's sleeping” I answer sarcastically

"Is who dead?" Simon asked sceptically. I realised he couldn't see the body.

"Could you deglamourize, or whatever, so my best friend doesn't think I'm losing my mind?" Clary turned on Jace. The Shadowhunter obliged and lifted his shirt, tracing the rune with a glowing metal cylinder resembling a thick pencil with a crystal tip. Simon jumped back in surprise at both Jace and the dead man materialising out of nowhere,

"Um... what is happening?"

"Yeah, we don't have the luxury right now, kid. Everyone back inside," Jace started walking back inside but turned back when Simon started asking more questions.

"Clary, who is this? Your meth dealer?"

"I've seen him before. At the police station," Clary ignored Simon and pointed at the body.

"He's a member of the Circle. Clary, he's here for you," Jace was getting more irritated by the minute.

"He's with the people who took my mother," she shot back.

"Our mother," I shouted, but of course, was ignored.

"Right, and your little best friend here led him right to you. He's here to capture or kill you." Jace argued, a frown inching across his features. I could tell he was losing his patience very quickly.  "There's a dead body there, we have to call Luke," Simon spoke up again.

"We can't trust Luke, Simon. We can't." I frowned at Clary's words, questioning what had happened. Luke had virtually raised us alongside our mother and I would have said we could trust him with our lives. Clearly, my sister thought differently, wouldn’t be the first time.  Jace stepped forward,

"Clary, I need to keep you safe. I promise you, I promise I am going to help you find your mother. But you're one of us. You're a Shadowhunter." He held out his hand for Clary to take. Simon mirrored Jace's movements and moved closer to her,

"What are you talking about? Clary... you don't know this guy, all right? Come with me. I can get us help."  Clary didn't move, exasperated I gave up throwing my hands in the air and walking back inside.

"Where's your sister?" Isabelle came up to me.  I shrugged,

"Outside with Simon and Jace."

"Who's Simon?"

"Her mundane best friend."

"Right," Isabelle was sitting at a computer and I leaned against the desk, watching curiously until Alec storming in told me that my sister had returned and brought Simon with her.

"What's going on here? Why is there a mundane in the Institute?" He asked angrily.  Jace explained that a Circle member had followed Simon to the Institute to get to Clary and I, and as if reminding him that I was still here, Alec whipped his head around to glare at me. I just shrugged, throwing my hands up with an annoyed don't look at me, I don't know what's going on here face.  I listened as Jace and Alec explained what the Circle was and that Jace's father had died because of them.

"...And since the revolt we've been forbidden to even hear about the Circle."

"But, how is that even possible? It's your history," Clary argued. I rolled my eyes and Jace scoffed,

"Says the girl who didn't know she was a Shadowhunter?"

"Well now the only person who knows the truth is missing, so I don't care about your rules or what's forbidden, I'm... there's got to be someone out there who can tell us why they've taken my mother." Clary was never the best at empathising, or thinking about others, or the consequences of her actions.

"Our mother," I interjected frustrated that she kept forgetting that I lost Mum too,

"and Clary, we know why they've taken her, and breaking the rules isn't going to get her back, it'll only cause more chaos." I was getting really sick of her selfishness. Alec pointed at me in agreement.

"There is a way, you coming?" Jace walked away and Clary and Simon followed. I rolled my eyes and looked to Alec and Isabelle.

"Am I invisible?" I asked before following the others.  Jace held out his hand, stopping Simon in his tracks.

"No, no, no. Not you."

"Hey, we're a package deal," Clary protested, and Simon agreed.

"There are runes all over the training room floor that would kill your Mundie boyfriend," Jace rolled his eyes.  Her eyes widened,

"He's not my..."

"I'm not, like... we're, uh, just friends," Simon stuttered

“Best friends," Clary corrected. I tried to hide my smirk at her friend zoning him and clearly Jace found it amusing too but made much less of an effort to hide it.

"Yeah, and I'm tough. I can handle runes. So, uh, bring on the runes." It came out like more of a question, shortly followed by,

"What exactly are runes?"

"They give Shadowhunters our demon-fighting powers," Isabelle stepped up from behind me, and Simon's jaw dropped.

"So hot," he murmured. Jace cleared his throat warningly and glared at Simon.

"The rune," he muttered,

"the rune."

“real smooth dude.” I patted his shoulder

"Don't worry, I'll watch the best friend, I was just about to make some breakfast anyway," She offered. Jace sucked in a breath and jokingly said,

"On second thought, the runes might be a little less lethal."  Isabelle laughed and introduced herself and Alec to Simon.

"Jace, if anything happens to him-" Clary started.

"Oh my god Clary, what are they going to do? He'll be fine," I pushed Jace and Clary to walk on in front of me,

"Come on, let’s go."

 

Jace introduced us to Hodge Starkweather, their tutor and weapons trainer. He gave a long explanation about that our mother was in the Circle, all about the Mortal Cup - what it could do and how our mother stole it. This made Clary run off, Jace in tow, and so I wandered over to a wall of weapons and running my fingers along a few of them. I saw a beautiful bow with a quiver, several of what Jace had called seraph blades and many more I didn’t know the name to.

"You shouldn't touch what isn't yours," came a soft, deep voice from right behind me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks or reading.


	3. Chapter Two - Lightwoods and Weapons

I turned abruptly and saw Alec standing very close behind me. I rolled my eyes and held my hands up in surrender.

"Where's your sister?"

"I don't know! I don't keep twenty-four-seven tabs on her," I muttered, aggravated.

"Sorry. Do you want me to show you how to use some of these?" He asked, pointing towards the wall of weapons. I looked up at him, astonished, and then narrowed my eyes.

"Why are you being nice to me?" I asked him suspiciously.

"I’m not being nice I’m making sure you don't get the rest of us killed because you don't know how to handle a weapon," he smirked. I chuckled,

"Fair enough."  He took down two seraph blades, a range of daggers and knives, and the beautiful bow and arrows. He directed me to the training room floor and laid them out, crouching beside them.

"I assume by now you know what this one is?" he pointed to the seraph blade and looked up at me. I nodded, and he continued,

"Okay we'll start with this one then."  He handed me one and it glowed luminously at my touch.

"Now, it knows you're a Shadowhunter, so it wants to respond. But you have to be firm with it. Let it know whose boss." He demonstrated moving his through the air and gestured for me to copy him.

"There. You make yourself a part of it and it a part of you." He showed me another, more complex move, and I mirrored him.

"The blade never dims. It's saying you belong together."  I looked at him curiously, still gracefully slicing the air,

"How does it know?"  He watched me naturally take to the blade.

"Because your part angel, Breeanna Fray, like all Shadowhunters - it can sense it in your blood."  He swiftly moved, as if to attack me, and I automatically swung my blade up to block him. He looked surprised, but pleased,

"Good, you're a fast learner."  He spun around and dropped his aim, going for my leg but again my blade met his. His strikes were coming faster, the clash of the metal ringing through room and echoing off the walls. He moved forwards rapidly, forcing me to take step after step backwards, until he finally managed to knock my weapon out of my hands and back me into the wall, holding his brightly lit blade to my throat.

"Not bad for your first time," He grinned, withdrawing and offering me my seraph blade back.  We practiced with the seraph blades for a little while longer. Alec teaching me the best moves for defence and how to attack successfully, before he decided to move on and try another weapon.

"Okay, this is a throwing knife, very handy if you need to maintain distance, but tricky to get the hang of. You don't want to be worrying about getting into a good stance or trying for too long to take aim." In one flawless motion, he turned around and threw the knife hard against the left target on the wall. Bullseye. He turned back to me, handing me a knife.

"All right, you want to get the right grip on the blade for a clean release." He adjusted my hand around the knife then came around and stood to the back of me. He showed me the arm movement slowly then told me to try it on the right target. I was amazed at how smooth it felt and the sharp ringing sound it made as the blade left my hand. I was even more amazed when it hit the target. Dead centre.

"What the...?" Alec muttered, stunned.

"Well then, uh, again?"  I threw knife after knife, in different styles, using different techniques. I never missed. Not once.

"All right then... I guess we can try something else now," Alec handed me a dagger,

"A kindjal - very rare, but, if you can use one, very dangerous. Small enough to carry around undetected, large enough for hand to hand combat, and can be thrown if needed."  After giving me the run down on the weapon, I turned it over in my hand. It was a beautiful weapon with a silver carved hilt encrusted with enchanting blue stones. I looked over to see that Alec was about to pick up an identical one.

"They come in pairs, like these. These kinds of weapons don't respond to everybody, so they may not respond. Even if they do, the pair will only respond fully if both are being used by the same person," He explained, then as an afterthought he added,

"or I suppose a parabatai or married pair could use one each as their bond makes them a part of each other."

"Parabatai?" I asked. Alec stopped and looked at me.

"Parabatai is a pair of Nephilim warriors who fight together as lifelong partners, bound together by oath. Their bond is not reflected only in their closeness and willingness to lay down their lives for one another, but also as sworn in front of the Council. Not all Shadowhunters are required to have parabatai; it is actually less common to have them. A Shadowhunter has only until eighteen to find and choose a parabatai; once older than that, the ritual is no longer available to them," he explained.  I nodded, taking it in.

"Okay."

"What, not going to ask if I have one? Who it is?" he asked sceptically.  I shrugged,

"I figured it's not my business and if you wanted to tell me you would've."  He nodded, accepting my answer with a small smile, probably grateful that I wasn't as nosey as Clary.  He bent down to pick up the twin dagger and he nearly dropped it out of shock when the gems glowed at his touch. He turned quickly to inspect mine too, which was also glowing, releasing a warm tingle of electricity up my arm. I didn't find any of this strange because I didn't know what it meant so I waited quietly for Alec to say something. He recomposed himself but didn't mention it.

"It's a lot like using a seraph blade but you need to be quicker as it's much easier to mess up and get hurt with one of these." I replicated his actions, learning new combinations and how to attack and defend close up - much closer than with a seraph blade.

"It would be extremely unlikely that your opponent would have a pair of kindjal, so I'll be using my seraph blade." I nodded. He put down the twin dagger and the warmth radiating from mine stopped, and the glow dulled.

"We'll start you with just one, then I'll teach you how to use both at the same time," he answered my questioning look.  He was right in saying it was much harder to fight with, but it guided me in a way, led me to block a strike I didn't even see coming. When Alec gave me the second one, it reacted to his touch again, and he hurriedly handed it over to me, where this time the warmth and bright glow remained because I had both. It was the same feeling as when I had one and Alec had the other.  We moved on fairly quickly as I got the hang of them quite fast. He explained that that was because they responded to me and that's why it was glowing. Finally, he reached for the bow.

"I personally use a bow as my weapon of choice, but it can be very difficult to learn, so don't worry if you don't get it straight away," he said.  He walked back over to the armoury and returned with another bow and set of arrows,

"This one's mine." He loaded his bow and in one fluid motion, shot the arrow straight into the centre of the target. He made it look effortless and he burst into laughter when I hit nowhere near the target.

“your standing wrong.” He wrapped his arms around me adjusting my grip on the bow. A blush spread across my face and I couldn’t hide it. He then kicked my feet into a position shoulder width apart.

“Now pull back the bow string.” He whispered with his hands still on mine.

“Breath and release.” He finished letting go of my hands. A smirk crept onto his face when I hit directly next to his arrow, our eyes locked as I practically jumped up and down in joy. Silence fell between us, and Alec cleared his throat

"Why don't we try something else."  Alec suggested, I thought that the bow was the last of them, but he pulled out what looked like a thin, silver belt. I furrowed my eyebrows, but he held a finger up telling me to wait. He cracked the belt like a whip and it snapped into a black and silver Bo staff.

"Electrum laced," he informed me.

"Sweet," I grinned.  He explained to me how to use it, showing me a couple of moves before we started to practice against each other. Alec grabbed a regular metal staff. I managed to get Alec pinned down, the blade at the end of my staff at his throat. I'd suddenly switched from defence to offence, which had caught him off guard. I used his moment of hesitation to attack, pushing him back and moving so quickly that he barely had time to react and block. I feigned for a headshot and as he lifted his staff to block it, I ducked down and swiped at the back of his legs, he countered my attack turning it against me knocking me off my feet.  He was so shocked that I had nearly beat him, the face he made was priceless and I couldn't help it, I laughed. I heard slow clapping from behind me and tilted my head to see Jace walking up the steps towards us.

"Impressive," he said with a grin.

"Thanks," Alec held his hand out for me, I grabbed it and he pulled me up.

"I've got Simon down there, he said he wants to talk to you, Izzy went to see Clary," Jace nodded back to where he came from and I could see Simon, standing there awkwardly.

"All right, we'll put this stuff away and then I'll come down," I waved my hand at the weapons Alec and I had lying around, not willing to leave it all for the Lightwood to clean up. Jace nodded and jogged back down to Simon before he could touch or break anything.

"Thank you, Alec," I said as we collected the things we used. He nodded at me. We carried the various blades back to the wall and started stacking them quietly.  Suddenly Alec spoke.

"It’s Jace."

"What?" I turned to look at him and found him looking down at me.

"My parabatai. Its Jace." I smiled at the sudden trust he had in me, but the distraction caused me to drop one of the seraph blades, and I pointlessly attempted to catch it Alec pulling my arm back just enough that the blade only just sliced the edge of my finger.

“ow shit.” Alec did something I would never expect, he grabbed my cut finger and placed it in his mouth. Moving his tongue gently around my finger. Alec removed my no longer bleeding finger blood and abruptly turn to place the weapons onto the wall.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you or reading. i know I'm not the best writer and appreciate all feed back.


	4. Chapter Three - The City Of Bones

“Simon," I called,

"Hey! Simon! Where are you going?"  Clary appeared by my side.

"You can't leave!"

"Let's get out of here, just you, Bre and I," Simon begged.

"We can get Dot ourselves."

"Simon, there are demons out there, okay? Actual demons with tentacles that want to murder us," Clary tried to reason.

"Do you know how to kill a demon?" I asked sarcastically.

"I'm an Internet search away," he responded without hesitation.

"Simon, I really don't think it's that simple," Clary said.

"I bet you it's not that hard."

"Simon, the institute is the safest place for us to be right now. If we have any hope of finding our mom, then we first of all need to be alive," I reasoned.

 

Isabelle strolled through the middle of out small group and I turned to see her open the wall of weapons, only to have Jace quickly smack her hand away.  Isabelle sighed,

"Fifty bucks says he doesn't approve this mission."  Alec walked across the room and stood behind me.

"I don't approve this mission." Isabelle looked at me with an I told you so smirk, and I grinned before Alec continued,

"I spoke with the Clave. They're sending Seelie scouts to search for Valentine, but they made it clear, the little girl does not leave the premises," he pointed down at Clary and before I could say anything mischievous he turned back to me and added,

"you either."  Clary looked offended,

"Hey, my name is not 'little girl', okay? I don't care what that Clave thing or you want, I'm going to find Dot," She said, stubborn as ever. We'd found out that Dot was a warlock and that she could possibly have the answers - or at least some of them - that we need.  Before Alec could say anything else to Clary, Jace spoke.

"Alec, this warlock could have the answers we need. With Valentine's people out there searching for Clary and Breeanna, they're not safe outside alone."

"Jace has a point," Isabelle agreed.

"Et tu, Izzy? All right," he turned to Clary with an unimpressed look and an annoyed tone, "Since you have all the answers, where do you suggest we search?"  Clary thought for a moment, playing with her necklace that our mom had given her.

"We should start at Dot's apartment in Greenpoint, and there's this thrift store that she-" suddenly she gasped, and her body went stiff. Her hand gripped tightly around the luminous purple stone around her neck

"What's wrong? What is it?" Jace asked, concerned.

"I, um, weirdly, I think I know where Dot is," Clary replied with a small frown.  Simon pulled his keys out of his pocket.

"Great. I'll drive." Everyone looked at him sceptically.

"What? Unless you have, like, a Shadowhunter-mobile or something." He suddenly looked down and realised he was standing on the training room floor and added,

"You were kidding about the runes on the floor killing me, right?"  Jace smirked,

"Possibly."  Everybody started walking away and Simon scampered to keep up.

"Wait am I gonna die?"  Nobody answered him.

 

we all piled into his van. Simon, Clary and Isabelle in the front, me Jace and Alec in the back. I of course, being the smallest, was shoved into the middle seat. Which usually wouldn't have been an issue, had the two boys on either side of me been normal sized. Alec was 6'2 of pure muscle and Jace has awfully broad shoulders. So, I ended up sitting half on each of their laps. Alec pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to me.

"Here, this is a stele, your sister was given hers by your mother the night she was taken.  This was sent by the Iron Sisters when they hear there was two of you," He explained,

"It's for drawing and activating runes."

"Thank you," I took it examining it closely. It looked similar to the object Jace had used to activate his glamour rune earlier; only mine was curved where his was straight. There were rune markings all over the curved silver and it had a crystal tip. I looked back up to Alec and he nodded, sending me a brief smile. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jace give Alec a strange look, before raising his eyebrow at him, but I was too preoccupied with my new stele to pay much attention. Jace had already drawn the angelic power rune, and Alec had given me the ones for strength, speed, and agility while we were training.

 

Simon suddenly turned a sharp corner as Clary directed and we sped down a dark alley. Clary was the first to opened her door and jumped out. We all scrambled out after her and followed her as she walked quickly towards another corner. She touched her necklace again and whispered,

"Dot." She stood very still before screaming,

"No! Dot!"  Clary broke into a run and we all followed suit, letting her take the lead. Jace was quick to keep up with her while Alec and Isabelle made sure that Simon and I were still safely with them. Clary and Jace headed in through the front entrance of Pandemonium. She came to a stop and the rest of us caught up, but nobody else was there.

"She was just trying to help us... now she's gone," Clary whispered sadly.

"Oh Clary, I'm so sorry," Simon put a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't understand, Dot's like my big sister," She added.

"You still have another real sister," I whispered bitterly to myself from the back of the group, but as usual, everyone was too focused on Clary to pay me any attention.  I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up, surprised.

"I'm sorry," Alec offered. I nodded but remained silent. He then spoke to the rest of the group,

"It's not safe here. We have to go back to the Institute, right now."

"So, what now? Valentine has my mom and Dot, and we're just gonna give up? What about my memories? They can't just be gone?" Clary folded her arms.

"Wait what happened to your memories?" I asked, stepping forward.

"Of course," Jace muttered. Then to me he said,

"Clary's memory has been wiped so I'm assuming yours has too." He turned to Clary, "There's another option."  Alec looked at me with wide eyes before firmly saying,

"Absolutely not."  At the same time, Isabelle said,

"Don't even-” But Jace butted back in.

"I'm not afraid of the Silent Brothers."

"Who are the Silent Brothers?" Clary and I both asked at the same time.

"Shadowhunters with superior powers," Jace started.

"Who possess the ability to recover memories," Isabelle finished.

"A process that can also kill you, so there's that," Alec added.

"Your bedside manner is abysmal," I said playfully, looking at him.  Alec ignored me, though I saw his mouth twitch into a part smile, and faced Jace,

"We've broken at least eighteen Clave rules and now you want to go to the City of Bones? There's no way. I won't allow it."

"This isn't our choice to make, this is their decision," Jace shot back, looking at Clary and then me. I saw Alec look at me and I could see in his eyes he was asking me not to do it.

"You can't ask them to do this. They don't know what they're facing. They're not prepared," Isabelle hissed.  Before I could say anything, Clary spoke,

"If anyone can tell me another way to recover my memories and still get the answers we need, I'm listening." Nobody said anything.

"That settles it."  Jace smirked,

"See? I told you she's one of us."  Jace continued.

Alec huffed as Jace and Clary turned and made briskly for the van. Isabelle, Alec and I grudgingly followed after sharing a look that confirmed that none of us really wanted to go. Joining the others in the dreadful yellow van. This time I was nearly completely on Alec lap.

 

Simon drove us to an old abandoned road underneath a bridge. Graffiti was scribbled up and down the worn support pillars and oil drums emitting flames littered the unkempt, brown grass.

"Yeah, this place isn't creepy. Not at all," Simon said. I couldn't help but silently agree. There were the barrels of fire but no other sign of life.

"Don't tell me you're afraid," Isabelle teased.

"Are you kidding me? I was born afraid... which sounded a lot better in my head," Simon frowned and Isabelle laughed. Alec walked forwards,

"Let's check it out."  Clary and I went to follow but Jace stopped Clary,

"Wait here a minute. I wanna see if it's safe."  So, we waited with Simon by the van and as soon as the boys and Isabelle were out of earshot, he started worrying again.

"Why are we doing this? We don't even know these people."

"I just wish my mom had trusted me enough to tell me about all this," Clary replied, ignoring Simon's question.

"What is it? What's wrong?" She asked as he gave her a sceptical look.

"How are you not ultra freaked out by all of this?" He asked.

"I guess I just always felt like there was something missing. Some void I couldn't quite explain. Things are finally starting to make sense. But none of its gonna matter unless I get my mom back." I was generally a patient person, but my sister was really pushing my last nerve with her bullshit.

"Then let's do that," Simon smiled. I'd stayed quiet throughout the whole exchange and as soon as Jace called out, I hastily walked up to him.

"You have to understand, the Silent Brothers aren't like us," he explained.

"What, they lack your charm and superior people skills?" I smirked. Alec and Isabelle snickered and Jace smiled.

"Yeah, most people do," he teased.

"The brothers communicate without using words, using just their thoughts."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Clary mused.

"Don't let their silence fool you. They'll hold the Soul-Sword to your head, and with its blade, carve the truth from your mind. If you're not strong enough, you will die," he strained.

"I take it back. That sounds level ten bad," Clary replied with wide eyes.  We stopped in front of what appeared to be the entrance.

"The Silent Brothers will only see one of you," Jace turned and looked between us, silently asking which of us it would be.

"Bre, I think you should go," Clary suggested, taking a step back; a small quiver to her voice.

"Oh thanks, what happened to “I'll do anything to get my mother back”, screw you all'?" I rolled my eyes, making my way to the entrance.  Alec quickly walked forwards and grabbed my shoulders.

"Breeanna, the pain will be excruciating. You don't have to do this."  I looked over at Clary who nodded at me saying yes you do, and I looked back at Alec with a shrug and a sigh,

"I don't really have a choice." I took a deep breath and Simon's words of encouragement found me.

"You can do this, you can. You're Breeanna freakin' Fray. You can do anything." He made to walk to the entrance with me but Jace's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Surprise, surprise. No mundanes allowed, just like in the training room, right? Wrong! I've seen every horror movie ever made and the funny best friend who gets left behind - dead man," Simon protested.

"You're not that funny. But by all means, go ahead," Jace gestured forward and Simon made to move again.

"Of course, the minute you enter, you'll die."

"Problem is, now I don't trust you," Simon accused.

"He's not lying," Alec said.

"The rune energy in the City of Bones will kill any mundane who dares to enter, so, please," he also gestured forwards.

"The brothers creep me out, I'll mind the mundane while Jace and Clary clear the perimeter," Isabelle offered.

"Your sacrifice is noted Izzy," Jace muttered as he grabbed Clary and walked away.  Alec rested a hand on my shoulder and offered me a half-hearted smile, before leading me in. He pulled out a glowing rock from the pocket of his jacket.

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's witch light. We carry it to remind us that light can be found in even the darkest of places - and it's cooler than a flashlight," he smirked.

"Here," he handed it to me, quietly leading the way down the steps until we came across a statue holding a chalice and sword that pointed right.

"Is that meant to be the Mortal Cup?" I pointed to the chalice. Alec nodded, and then I noticed an inscription on the sword. NEPHILIM: FACILIS DESCENSUS AVERNI.

"What's that say?"

"It's the Shadowhunter creed. ‘Looking better in black than the widows of our enemies since 1234’."  I could tell he was joking and replied,

"My Latin's pretty rusty, but I'm almost positive that's not what that says."

"For Shadowhunters, the descent into hell is easy." He amended.

"That should be a postcard," I joked.

"It's this way," he pointed in the direction of the swords tip.  We turned another corner and at the end of the new corridor I saw a small room with ambient light flooding in from somewhere above. Alec took back the witch light, tucking it into his pocket and taking my hand, he led the way down the passage. Stepping into the room, I looked down at a marking on the floor.

"I've drawn this before. But I don't know what it means."

"It means clairvoyance," Alec answered.  Suddenly bursts of fire were further lighting up the room from every direction. I jumped, and Alec gripped my hand tighter.

"Shadowhunters," A voice acknowledged us both.

"Come into the circle," the eyeless man gestured for me only, so I walked forward into the centre of the beam of light.

"Step away, Alexander Lightwood."  Alec looked me in the eyes,

"I'll be right here," he promised, before backing away from the light.  The eyeless man began talking-but-not-talking to me again,

"The search of your unconscious is a perilous one."

"Please my memories were blocked. I have to get them back," I asked.

"If you are not strong enough the Soul-Sword will kill you." His uncanny voice echoed, and I shivered but stood my ground.  I took a deep breath,

"I'm ready."

"The Soul-Sword reveals all."  I looked up and there was a golden sword coming down towards me. The tip rested on the centre of my forehead and I gasped as my body lurched and I felt like I was being pulled backwards. Everything went dark.

"Luke no." My mother's voice rang out.

"All this lying is destroying you. Stop blocking her memory and tell her the truth." I heard Luke's strong voice but couldn't form any kind of picture.

"I can't. You know I can't."

"You're just delaying the inevitable. Clary and Breeanna are Shadowhunters. There's nothing you can do to change that," Luke argued.

"This world is too dangerous. If anyone knew who they really are, the risks would be a hundred times greater."

"What happens when they find out the truth on their own? Then what?"

"I won't let that happen," my mother replied firmly.

"If they ever learn about their father if they ever find out that their father is Valentine..." 

 

I faintly heard Alec's voice shouting above the cloudy illusion, I felt my body shaking, and my knees getting weak. I felt Alec run forward and catch me as I fell and the last thing I heard as Alec cradled me was him yelling,

"What did you do to her?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading chapter three.


	5. Chapter Four - Daughters of Valentine

“Has she woken up yet?" I heard a panicked voice. My ears were ringing.  

"No, I told you, I would tell you as soon as she did," another voice responded.  I heard a frustrated sigh and footsteps getting further away.  I could hear, but I couldn't see. I couldn't move either and started to panic. My body felt trapped, like I was in some sort of cage. After what felt like a lifetime but could only have been a few minutes, I managed to open my eyes, and instantly, the invisible bounds that seemed to be restricting me before, melted away. Everything was blurry, and it took a moment to focus. I could see a figure with dark hair in the corner, who jumped up and hurried over as soon as I attempted to sit myself up.

 "You had us all so worried!" Isabelle sighed as she helped me sit up.

"I've never seen Alec like that." 

"Alec? What happened?" I asked. 

"What do you remember?" She asked kindly. 

"I- I'm not really sure," I said, frowning, trying to draw a picture from her mind but only coming up with blanks. 

"We all I know is you and Alec went into the City of Bones and he returned holding you, unconscious, in his arms, yelling at us for help, and shouting that it was all Clary's fault," Isabelle replied.

"Speaking of, I told him I'd let him know when you woke up, so I'll be back in just a second, will you be okay?" She added, a little hesitant to leave.  I nodded and waved her away, and she walked quickly from the room. I stood up, a little unsteady, and made my way over to the window, trying to remember what had happened. The last thing I could think of was losing Dot. I remembered going into Pandemonium, but I couldn't remember coming out. It was like everything just stopped when we found that she wasn't there.  I opened the window, letting the cool air wash over me, settling my rising anxiety over the situation. I didn't like not knowing things. I wondered if Alec was okay, he'd gone down with me Isabelle said, if I was in this state, what happened to him? Why was only one of us affected? She'd said he carried me out, but that didn't necessarily mean he was okay.  Heavy footsteps approaching the room snapped me out of my haze and I turned to face the door just as Alec, Jace, Isabelle and Clary burst through. 

"What happened?" 

"Are you okay?" 

"Don't ever do that again!"  As soon as my eyes zeroed on Alec's face, something in the back of my mind clicked. I gasped as the memories flooded me with a jolt.  My mother took my memories.  She lied to us for eighteen years.  Valentine was our father.

 "Do you remember something?" Isabelle asked gently. I nodded with wide eyes. I felt sick and I could tell my face had gone pale. 

"I remember going down, because Clary didn't want to, I remember the sword, I remember what I saw," I responded weakly. 

"What did you see? Do you know where the cup is?" Clary asked.  I shook my head, eyes welling up with tears. "Clary, she lied to us. About our father." 

"What? What about our father? He died when we were little." My sister looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was, but I doubted that the Silent Brothers would have planted a false memory in my head.  I shook my head again.

"Clary, Valentine is our father."  The silence that settled was deafening. Jace's eyes went wide, Isabelle's jaw dropped, Clary was shaking her head, speechless and in denial, but Alec, Alec's eyes turned dark. He frowned for a few moments before shaking his head and storming from the room.  Jace snapped out of his shock first and hurried out after him. I quickly followed the blonde, leaving the girls in my room. I found the boys in a room a few doors down from mine and hovered by the doorway.  

"...These girls show up out of nowhere and they're Valentine's daughters? Did it occur to you that they might be spies? That this might be part of his plan?" I heard Alec's angry voice.

"I thought Bre... Just as I..." Alec let out a frustrated noise and kicked the leg of a chair snapping it in half. For some reason, his disappointment hurt more than his anger.  I frowned, tightening my lips. How could he think I'm a spy? I retreated quietly, before either of them noticed, wanting to avoid Alec, but of course that was impossible in a place like this and low and behold we were all back together again in the entrance to the op centre. I stood awkwardly beside Jace, looking anywhere but at Alec, even though I felt his glare. 

"I still don't understand," Clary said, drawing everybody's attention to her,

"How can Shadowhunters be better than what you people call mundanes?"  

"Because we protect humans," Isabelle replied as though it were obvious - which it was, we must have been over this at least ten times already. Then again, Clary never listened. 

"Oh, you're right. Humans. You protect humans. You left Simon all alone in the van. Great job, guys. You rock," She pondered sarcastically. 

"Wait a second what happened to Simon?" I asked, suddenly realising he wasn't with us. 

"Isabelle was supposed to be watching him, but she left him alone in the van back at the City of Bones and now he's been kidnapped by vampires," Clary accused.  I thought about what she said.

"Sorry, what part of that was Isabelle's fault?" 

"She left him! Alone!" Clary cried. 

"I'm sure she wouldn't have left him with a legitimate reason... Izzy?" I turned to her, as if to ask why she did leave him. 

"I heard something moving and needed to check it out, the van was locked, and I told him to stay put," she muttered.  

"See, and there is some truth to the idea that human beings should have a modicum of common sense," I raised my eyebrow as I defended Isabelle, who smiled gratefully at me. 

"Look, they won't do anything to Simon. They just wanted to draw you out. They want the Cup, and they think you have it," Jace explained, trying to reassure my sister. 

"But why do they think that? Why does anyone think that? What, my mom lies to me my entire life except, oh by the way, there's this magic cup, I hid on, like, the planet Bongo, but don't tell anyone," Clary exclaimed, throwing her hands up. I didn't even bother correcting her 'me' to an 'us'.

"What am I supposed to do now?" 

"We have to report to the Clave," Alec stated, not the least bit interested in Clary's whining. 

"Great," Jace replied sarcastically. 

"They have to know we've learned about Valentine," He shot back. 

"What, that he's my father? Great. Fine. Tell them. What good does that do Simon?" Clary protested.  

"Clary, it's all connected. The vamps want the Cup," Jace tried to explain. 

"Why? It makes new Shadowhunters," Clary was confused now and I refrained from rolling my eyes. 

"Nobody wants Valentine forming an army loyal to himself," I interjected. Alec shot me a suspicious look at that and I just glared back. If he was going to treat me like that, then he was getting it straight back. 

"Plus, it controls demons," Isabelle added. 

"They'll propose a trade," Jace said,

"Simon for the Cup." 

"So, the vampires will trade Simon for the Cup and Valentine will trade my mother for the Cup. Either way, I lose someone I love," Clary sighed then muttered,

"What if I just toss it up in the air and let them fight it out among themselves?" 

"So, this doesn't matter to you?" Alec and I snapped at the same time. 

"Yes, of course, it matters!" She fired back, I rolled my eyes, "Listen when you saved my life I put my trust in you. Now, I need you to put your trust in me. I can't turn into what you are overnight." 

"It's true. She was raised as a mundane," Isabelle agreed.  

"What are you, her spokesman now?" Alec groaned out of irritation then looked between my sister and myself before he added,

"Forgive me if I don't quite put all my faith in the daughters of Valentine."  That was it. We trained together and got to know each other and now he completely turned his back on me because of something about me that I didn't even know. I'd had it with him. 

"All right, that's enough," I put my hands-on Alec's chest and gave him an almighty shove,

"Do you think we planned for our mom to get kidnapped? Or for Dot to be taken? Or for me to have a giant sword dangle over my head and find out that my father is one of the most dangerous people in the world? Really? How little you must think of me," I spat. I held his startled gaze for a few seconds before looking away with a sigh. Shaking my head, I walked away without another word.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I hope your enjoying.


	6. Chapter Five - At Dawn

Twenty minutes later a soft knock on my door broke me out of the daze I was in. I turned my head from staring out the window to look at Jace, waiting for permission to come in. I jerked my head, letting him know he could, and he sat on the bed next to me.  

"Hey, you know Alec doesn't really think-” I cut Jace off.

"Yes, he does, don't apologise on his behalf."  Jace sighed but let it go.

"Anyway, we're going to rescue Simon from the vampires at Hotel De Mort, you coming?" 

"Sure," I shrugged and stood up, gesturing for him to lead the way.  

"Oh," Jace stopped and turned back to face me,

"We're just making a quick stop first." 

 

Everyone piled into Simon's van again. With Clary driving, and Jace upfront, I was left a space in the back. Luckily, Isabelle climbed into the middle, but I don't think she realised when she did that she would be literally right in the middle of the tension. I stared at my hands the whole way, not looking up once, even when I could feel Alec or Isabelle's gaze.  

 

"All right, Mary Milligan, born January 10th, 1802. Died, January 10th, 1878," Isabelle read from a scrap of paper once we had all stepped out into the churchyard. 

"Okay, Alec, let's go," Jace waved for the taller boy to follow him. 

"Wait, what are we looking for?" Clary asked. 

"Cache of weapons," Isabelle responded with a grin. 

"Stashed here with Mrs. Milligan," Jace finished. 

"Why are there Shadowhunter weapons in a churchyard?" She replied. 

"Because all of the ancient religions recognised demons," Isabelle said,

"Or at least they used to."  

"They forgot about the threat because we've been here to protect them," was the first thing Alec said the whole way here.

"Typical mundane failure of imagination." 

"Are you saying we did too good a job?" Isabelle scoffed, in disbelief.

"You just can't let up, can you?" She accused. Jace broke them up before they started a full-blown argument.

"You know what? Alec, why don't you go check out by the angel?"  I wandered off on my own, repeating the name Mary Milligan over in my head, after I saw Isabelle leave to find us an in to the hotel, trying not to find the whole situation too creepy.  I saw Jace cross over, away from Clary towards Alec and before long, their conversation floated over. Rolling my eyes at their incapability to whisper, I leaned against the headstone I had just found with Mary Milligan's name on it and listened with a raised eyebrow. 

"...That's the problem. You're not listening. Not to this or anything else I've said tonight. You don't even know this girl." Of course, Alec had something to say about all this again.

"Why do you trust her?"

"Is this about her being Valentine's daughter? What about Bre? Haven't we been through this?" Jace was quick to respond while Alec's eyes scanned over Clary, not too far from us,

"Alec, look at me. You can trust her, or not. I don't care, that's not my business, but if you don't trust me-”

“Found it!" I shouted, cutting off their conversation,

"Jace, Clary, over here." 

"Beloved servant? Who wants that on a headstone?" Clary asked, turning her nose up. 

"Someone who was in service to a cause greater than themselves," Alec said. 

"Well, at least she is now," I mumbled, earning a grin from Jace.  The boys heaved the stone lid from the grave, revealing a few seraph blades and some throwing knives. Clary reached for a seraph blade and Alec let out an exasperated sigh.

"Don't touch that. You don't know how to use it." 

"What, like at Pandemonium when I killed that demon?" Clary shot back. 

"You didn't kill-" Alec protested, but Jace interrupted him. 

"Alec. I'm gonna show her the right way to use it. Do you see what you need in here?" 

"No. There's no bow here - I need one. I have to rune some arrows and that's back at the Institute. I gotta go." He started walking away when Jace spoke again.  

"Well, how are you gonna get back in the Institute?" 

"Go in the back," Alec replied as if it was the most obvious thing ever,

"Won't bother me if I'm alone." 

"Okay, good, but you won't be alone, you're taking Bre with you," Jace added, looking at me with a somewhat apologetic look in his eyes. Neither Alec nor I said anything, but he gave a stiff nod.

"I can finish up here."  Before we made to leave, Alec walked closer to Jace and with a sigh said,

"Hey, I understand what we need to do, and I trust you, parabatai but don't ever doubt me. No matter what I said."  Jace smiled and held up his hand,

"It's already forgotten. I'll see you at dawn."  Alec clasped his hand and agreed,

"At dawn."  Alec turned and walked towards me,

"Let’s go," he said, and carried on walking straight past me in the same direction we came. He headed for the driver's side of the van, but I walked straight up and pushed it closed before he could open it any further.  

"I'm driving," I said, leaving no room for arguments. I still hadn't looked him in the eye, so I opened the door, effectively using it to push him out the way and climbed up into the driver's seat. He made his way round to the passenger side and slipped in with no further protests.

 

The drive was silent. Alec opened his mouth once or twice but never said anything, whilst I kept my eyes glued to the road. I had never been more thankful to arrive at the Institute and quickly exit the van, walking straight inside.  Alec was right, nobody bothered us, and he made a beeline for the training room. I followed closely behind. making it to the training room Alec quickly garbed a bow and enough arrows to fill a quiver, while Alec was running his arrows I grabbed a leg strap and shoved some throwing knives in the holsters also grabbing the twin kindjal that Alec had given me. Finally, I took out a seraph blade from the wall of weapons and discreetly tucked it into the back of my jeans. I walk up and sit on the bench that Alec is running arrows on, my arms folded across my chest, I watched him rune his arrows wordlessly.

I saw Hodge walking up the stair and panicked, I started to think about what would happen if he caught us. Without fully thinking I grabbed Alecs t-shirt and crashed my lips onto his causing him to drop his arrow and stele. Alec was shocked but kissed back with equal force placing his hands on my hips to stabilize himself. Hodge cleared his throat before speaking.

“Alec.” Alec rapidly broke the kiss giving me a look that made me regret kissing him and I got off the bench walking around to the other side. Alec was about to explain himself when Hodge stopped him.

“you remind me of me Alec, the loyal friend in the shadow of the chosen one.” After that Hodge left leaving an awkward silence to fall between us.

Alec continued to rune his arrows, I felt him look up at me a few times, but my gaze was only on his arrows and I refused to look at him.  I was never good enough for anyone. That's what hurt the most about this. Clary was always Mom's favourite, and I was shoved off to the side. Now, Jace was completely wrapped up in Clary and Alec had turned his back on me.  Finally, Alec's phone told me that Isabelle had the way in, and we were off again.

 

Making our way to a dark strip of decaying buildings. We climbed through a broken window, heading up a metal flight of stairs in one of the empty buildings, following Isabelle's directions until we caught sight of her on the landing. 

"Izzy," Alec called,

"I got your text. Where are we exactly?"  We reached the grim landing and came face to face with his sister, who replied,

"It's an old meatpacker's service entrance. If we go back there, we come up into the basement of the Hotel De Mort," She said proudly.

"Perfect, right? We distract the vamps, Clary and Jace have time to find Simon." 

"Okay," Was Alec answered nonchalantly. 

"Okay? It was hard work interrogating Meliorn to get this Intel." She was a little put off at her lack of praise.  "Great job, Izzy," Alec congratulated in the most sarcastic tone he could conjure, adding,

"You have faerie dust on your dress," before walking ahead.

"And I hate being the distraction." 

"I don't," Isabelle laughed.

We carried on through the tunnel like passageways, Alec and I still avoiding conversation.

"You guys really aren't going to talk to each other, are you?" She said with her eyes narrowed. Alec's steps faulted a little and he looked round at me, but I carried on as though nothing was said, focusing on the mass of grey ahead.

"Come on, why not?" She pressed.  I whipped around to face her, startling her a little,

"Why not? Here's why, because I thought that you guys were going to help me, I thought I was helping my sister who, in case nobody else has noticed, doesn't care about me, I thought you needed me for something but really, I have no idea why I'm here. You were the ones who dragged me into this, then you accuse me of being a spy, hello? Did it not occur to you that I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you coming to find me? More than that, I spent my whole life in Clary's shadow, my mother never cared for me like she did Clary so when I finally thought I found some people who might care enough to train me, or look after me, or walk into a literal city of death with me, and they turn around and treat you like dirt because of something you didn't even know about yourself, ITS A LITTLE DISHEARTENING." I pointed at Alec when I mentioned him training me, and he flinched, a look of guilt crossing his face. 

"Breeanna I-" Isabelle and Alec both started but I held up a hand to stop them. 

"This is not the time or the place." I turned and strutted back down the corridor. 

"I don't know. Looks pretty smooth so far," She said to Alec, who - from the silence it seemed - wasn't impressed with her comment. Isabelle took the lead and we crept under some low leading pipes to a door.

"This must be the way," She declared, wrenching open the door, only to be met with a crowd of snarling vampires.  Alec slammed the door shut, digging for his stele. I looked around him to Isabelle. 

"Smooth huh?" I said.  She ignored me and hurriedly pressured Alec, who couldn't get his stele out,

"Any day now."  

"Yeah, if you hold the door still, it might be a lot easier," he retorted.  I quickly moved his hand away from his pocket where he was still struggling and pulled his stele out, handing it to him. 

"Thanks," he muttered, but I didn't acknowledge him. The door rejected his runes and he panicked.

"It's not taking it."  Looking up, I saw a pipe small enough that it would fit through the handle and I took out my seraph blade, slashing it in two places. It dropped into my hand and I shoved it between a loop in the wall and the door handle, temporarily keeping the vampires out. 

"Whoever said, the pen is mightier than the sword, was an idiot," Isabelle said. 

"When you're right, you're right," Alec agreed.  Again though, I didn't acknowledge either of them, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw them share a look at my silence. 

"Do you think they know where we are?" Isabelle joked, trying to diffuse the building tension. 

"That's the idea, right?" Alec replied before asking,

 "How long do you think we have to distract them for?" The three of us gravitated towards each other, stepping away from the door and taking stance. 

"Ten more minutes," The younger Lightwood shrugged. 

"Ten minutes? Are you kidding? We're liquid lunch in five," I muttered to myself. 

"So, let's distract them," Isabelle said. 

"So, let's distract them," Alec agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank You for reading. Please enjoy many more.


	7. Chapter Six - Vampires and Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit graphic blood wise.

The door burst open and I instantly took the first one out with a flick of my wrist, a knife buried itself in the chest of the vampire. Quickly, Isabelle took out the next one with her whip, while Alec loaded his bow. My seraph blade found its way into the stomach of a vampire coming for Isabelle and Alec shot one as it came through the door.  The next one that came after me had a weapon of its own. He swung the club at me and I easily met it with my blade, blocking his attack. He threw himself forwards into his next strike and I used his own weight to deflect his hit and throw him off balance. Unfortunately, on his way down, he took out my legs and brought me down with him. He was the first to recover and came down on top of me, brandishing his weapon. I focused all my energy into my legs and kicked him off with an enormous effort. Jumping back up to my feet, I lifted my blade to block the oncoming blow. Before I had time to react he had swiped at my face cutting a deep line down my left cheek, eyebrow to chin. I grunted but refused to allow myself to lose focus, knowing I would die if I did. Channelling my pain and turning it into anger, I let it pulse through me. With a newfound strength, I ducked his swing at my head and drove my seraph blade through his heart.  I had no time to celebrate my victory as I saw Jace and Clary sneak past while more vampires flooded the room. My face was stinging, and I felt blood gushing down my cheek, but I gritted my teeth and carried on. Another one was coming straight for me but before it was even within arm’s reach, an arrow whistled past my head, and the attacker was dust. I didn't have time to react to it before two more came at me. I snapped my belt into a Bo staff and impaled both vampires in one hit. Turning back around, I saw Alec about to shoot a vampire heading for Isabelle, not noticing the one right behind him. 

"Alec!" I threw myself forwards, seraph blade outstretched, successfully disintegrating the vampire behind him, but as soon as it turned to dust, an even larger male vampire appeared in front of me at an unearthly speed. Before I could even comprehend his presence, I heard Isabelle scream as he drove his own sword straight into my stomach and in a matter of milliseconds, I was shoved chest first into the wall on the other side of the room, so hard that the concrete split. My head crashed against it and felt my ribs crack inwards at the force of the blow. Blood dripped from my nose and down my chin, but I hardly had the energy to wipe it away.  

"Breeanna no!" Isabelle cried, and Alec dealt with the two remain vampires before they both rushed over to me. Alec pressed a hand over my stomach in an attempt to stem the flow of blood. They tried to help me up, but I pushed them both off angrily,

"Get off me." 

"Bre now isn't the time, you're seriously injured, and you need our help," Alec pleaded with me. 

"No, you don't want to help, your life would be so much easier without me here. That's what you think yeah? You'd prefer it if I just died wouldn't you," I coughed, heaving myself up. I tried tracing the healing rune Alec had drawn on me at the City of Bones, but it wasn't doing anything.  I stumbled forwards and Isabelle tried to steady me, but I pulled away with a,

"Don't touch me." I collected my weapons and moved on, holding my hand over my stab wound, applying as much pressure as I could. Feeling like my lungs were flooded, I was having extreme difficulty breathing by the time we rounded the corner straight into another fight scene. Jace was fighting two against one while Clary managed to get herself in a chokehold by a third.  Alec reacted immediately, aiming at the vampire, but the Downworlder held Clary in front of him like a shield. 

"Okay," Alec smirked, and instead shot the arrow at the wall, allowing a beam of sunlight to flood in and burn the vampire, releasing Clary. Clary then moved to fight one of the others and stabbed him, while Jace sliced his in half, both successfully disintegrating their opponents. Clary look stunned because she managed to kill one and Jace looked at her with pride.  

"I killed him," she stammered,

“He was already dead," Jace replied.  Isabelle walked forwards and offered,

"Plus, he wanted to kill you. Remember that." Then she looked at Jace with a grin,

"She did great, right?"  Jace looked back at Clary with a smile,

"Yeah, you did. You should be proud."  I threw my hands up in the air out of exasperation.

"Yeah great job you killed one Clary, fantastic, can we go find Simon now?" I somehow wheezed out. I could now taste blood and was feeling very lightheaded.  Jace's eyes widened as he saw me. He dropped his seraph blade and it clattered to the ground, forgotten as the blonde raced to my side.

"Are you okay?" I grit my teeth and shook my head,

"Simon, we have to find Simon," I insisted. Jace reluctantly left my side and led the way forwards, throwing worried glances at me over his shoulder. We quickly located Simon and found him in the clutches of a vampire, with a knife to his throat. 

"Simon!" Clary went to run forward but Jace caught her before she'd made it two steps. 

"Clary! That's not gonna do any good," He warned, keeping a tight grip on my sister's jacket. 

"Listen to him, Clary Fairchild. Put it away," The vampire demanded, referring to the seraph blade in Clary's hand,

"I've had more than enough of your friend for one day. I'd love to cut his throat - don't give me a reason. Put it away!"  Clary lowered the blade and took a cautious step forward, talking to Simon as if he wasn't being held with a knife to his throat.

"Simon, are you, all right?"  Ever sarcastic Simon replied,

"I wouldn't say all right-” The vampire had had enough.

"Stop talking! Now if you would all just follow me. Let's go! Come on, let's go! Up here now!" He led us through a corridor as I staggered after everybody and we seemed to be ascending.

"That’s right get down there now! Get down there or I'll kill him right now!" I tripped and fell onto the damp stone flooring, sprawled out on my hands and knees, grazing my palms and tearing the skin on my knee. I scrambled up and felt the almost unbearable pain in my stomach starting to spread.  My hearing had gone fuzzy and everybody's voices sounded distant. I only caught snippets of what was being said as I crashed into the walls, desperately trying to keep up with the others. 

"Get out!" 

"Not without Simon..." 

"This is about Valentine..." 

"Take him..."  I thought I saw a Simon-shaped figure being thrust forwards towards the bright red splurge that was probably my sister. Black dots were clouding my vision and suddenly we all spilled out into the sunlight on the roof.  I could still hear ringing voices that sounded a lot like my sister. 

"Oh my God. Oh my God, it's over. It's actually over."  I fell to my hands and knees, coughing and wheezing. Looking down I could see red liquid spattered on the concrete in front of me and it took my hazy mind a minute to recognise it as blood - my blood. 

"Oh my god, Bre!" Jace's frantic yelling pulled my line of vision up to him and saw him, Alec and Isabelle racing over to me.

"What the hell happened?" he demanded. His tone was scary, and I'd never heard him use it before. It was full of a mixture of rage and worry. 

"She killed a vampire that snuck up on Alec but another one got her. He stabbed her and threw her clear across the room, he hit her so hard she cracked the concrete!" Isabelle's upset voice sounded like a faraway whisper to me now. 

"She saved your life?" he turned to Alec with a frightening glare,

"Even after the way you treated her," He spat. He turned back to me,

"It’s okay Bre, it’s gonna be okay, I'm gonna help you, we're gonna get you some help." He pulled one of my arms around his shoulders and pulled me up to a standing position, taking nearly all my weight for me. I took a sharp intake of breath as my stomach stretched and I slumped over, trying to ease the pain.

"Alec! Help me!" Jace cried, but as soon as Alec took a step towards us I shook my head. 

"Not... him..." I choked, blood trickling from my mouth. I couldn't think straight, and my logic had disappeared, replaced by anger towards the Lightwoods. Jace looked understandably confused - he wasn't in the tunnel with us when I'd snapped, but before questions could be asked, Simon rushed forwards.  

"I got her, I got her, let’s go," He said, pulling my other arm round his shoulders.  I could barely take a step and I couldn't keep my head up, so I let it hang down, lolling about carelessly, barely keeping myself conscious as the boys practically dragged me.  I saw the horrified looks everyone’s faces. Blood trickled down the left side of my face now covering it, courtesy of the gash the first vampire had given me with. The red liquid had also stained the entirety of my chin and was still freely flowing down my mouth and nose. But my stomach, my stomach looked dreadful. The wound was visible through the rip in my shirt; a large hole expelling waves of thick, dark blood.  Jace threw another glare at Alec,

"Changed your mind about her yet?" He didn't wait for an answer, shaking his head and instead focused on dragging me back to the Institute, promising to help me, if I could just stay awake for him. I coughed again, blood dribbling down my chin, staining my shirt, and I saw everybody wince, knowing they couldn't do anything to make it stop. 

"Stay with me Bre, come on," Simon's voice echoed from somewhere nearby. 

"We're nearly there, come on, you can do it, don't do this to me Bre, come on" Jace's voice resonated distantly. I could see the blurry outline of a building that looked vaguely like the Institute and I willed myself to hang on a bit longer. I physically couldn't lift my feet, so I was dragged like a rag doll, up the steps and towards the doors of the church, my feet catching on the stone. Blood was still gushing profusely from my nose and mouth and I was very quickly choking on my own fluids. Alec and Isabelle barged through the doors, Clary holding them open for us while Alec yelled at anybody who was there,

"We need help! Quickly!"

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.


	8. Chapter Seven - Awake

Simon and Jace stumbled forward, Alec shouting for help and Isabelle ran off to find a medic. I was at the point of gasping for air and my head pounded like nothing I'd ever felt before, pleading for oxygen.

"Over here! Put her over here!" A voice I didn't recognise - or couldn't identify in my state - called.  I felt myself being dragged forward before being laid down on a cold table. I felt hands pressing different areas of my chest while a new wave of blood sprayed from my mouth.  

"She has a punctured lung caused by on of four broken ribs, her lungs are flooded, possible skull fracture and internal bleeding. We need to operate before her healing runes can be used effectively - now!" The world seemed to move around me and faces jumped in and out of my vision as the table I was on was wheeled down the corridor. Jace, Clary, Isabelle, Alec, Simon, Clary, Isabelle, Jace, Simon, Alec. Everybody was talking to me, but I could no longer hear the words coming from their moving mouths. The last thing I saw was the bright white ceiling of the operating room before everything fell into darkness.

 

I could feel weight on one side of the bed I was in. Realising someone was holding my hand and I felt my fingers twitch. 

"Bre? Breeanna? Can you hear me?" I squeezed the hand that I was holding to tell them yes.

"Come on, come on open your eyes."  At first the light was so overwhelming to my senses that I couldn't make out anything. After blinking a few times, I could distinguish colours and shapes and I realised that there was a head of blonde hair, looking down at me. 

"Jace?" My voice came out cracked and my words were slurred but the head started to nod and after a few more seconds of blurry vision, Jace's face became clear.

"What are you doing here?"  

"Waiting for you to wake up obviously," He rolled his eyes, but I could see his smile was gentle and he was genuinely worried. 

"Dude what happened?" I asked, trying to wiggle my way up.  Jace helped me into a sitting position before he replied.

"You saved Alec's life," He whispered,

"And nearly died." 

"Is Alec okay?" I asked, looking down at my hands. Jace let out a strained laugh,

"I tell you that you nearly just died and you're asking if he's okay? My God." He looked down at me realising I was still looking at him expectantly and he cleared his throat,

"Yes, he's okay," He assured me.

"And Clary? Isabelle? What about Simon? Is he okay?" 

"Yes- yes- they're all fine calm down," Jace said, holding his hands up.  

"And you?" he nodded again. I let out a sigh and fell back against my pillows, remembering what I had been meaning to talk to him about.

"I know that my mom was part of the Circle, and I know they killed your father, and I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for that."  He offered me a small smile and squeezed my hand,

"You really are something else you know that?" he chuckled. putting a more serious look on he said,

"You had me so worried, I thought we were going to lose you." 

"Why? Don't you care that I'm the daughter of the enemy?" I asked half-heartedly. 

"Not at all, Bre you're my little sister now."  I grinned,

"Yeah because you love Clary," I teased. He snorted, but looked me in the eye again,

"and if you're talking about Alec... he doesn't really think that. He was really worried-”

“Because he feels guilty is all, he would rather be rid of me and Clary," I mumbled.  Jace sighed,

"That's not true Bre, you should have seen him, he was a wreck."  I couldn't bring myself to believe him and so just shook my head, finding arguing futile.

"Just... all that matters is that everyone is okay, you're sure that you’re not sugar-coating anything? Izzy, my sister, Simon," Jace was nodding along,

"...Alec? They're really okay?" 

"I'm okay."  I snapped my head to the direction of the voice so fast that I may as well have given myself whiplash. Alec was leaning against my doorframe, arms folded. He gestured forward,

"Can I come in?"  I shrugged, and he took it as a yes, walking over to me. Jace shot me a look that said he cares, be nice, before getting up, allowing Alec to take his place on my bed.  Jace walked out the door and the room fell silent for a few seconds. I tried to avoid Alec's gaze, but it was very difficult. 

"Breeanna, I'm so sorry," Alec's voice cracked a little and I made eye contact with him for the first time since I'd snapped at him in the tunnel.

"I never meant for any of this," he waved his hand over my body,

"to happen." 

"If you're only here because you feel guilty, then you can go," I said quietly, looking down at my fidgeting hands. Alec placed a hand over both of mine, bringing my attention back up to him. 

"Of course, I feel guilty, you almost lost your life trying to save mine. After everything I said about you, accused you of, I know you overheard Jace and I talking, even then, you still risked yourself for me. Breeanna, when I thought you were going to die, I didn't think I would be able to live with myself, knowing what you did in spite of the way I treated you. Of course, I don't think you're working with Valentine, you couldn't possibly be. I'm so, so sorry," Alec sounded so genuine. Hesitantly, he wrapped his hand around mine, taking hold of it. I let him.  

"It's okay," I whispered, my voice still scratchy. 

"No, it's not," he replied, hanging his head with shame,

"But still, I'm sorry." 

"Alec." He didn't look up.

"Hey," I brought his hand up, wrapping both my small ones around it, holding it to my chest. Alec looked up, into my eyes and I whispered,

"I forgive you, but you need to forgive yourself too. You were just protecting your family and I can't hold that against you. I'll be fine, so you can't dwell on this."  Alec looked as if he didn't know whether to smile or cry.

"What did we do to deserve someone like you, Breeanna?"  He gently pulled me forward into a tight hug, and I sighed into his shoulder, rubbing his back,

"What are we going to do with ourselves hey?" 

"Alec, Jace told me to come and get you, he thinks he has a lead on the Mortal Cup," Isabelle raced into the room. Alec slowly pulled away from me and looked at Isabelle who now wore wide eyes and an apologetic look. Alec looked back at me and I nodded indicating that he should go. He quietly whispered,

"Thank you," kissed the top of my head and left, with a very confused Isabelle following. I decided that I couldn't lie around in bed all day and so I got dressed into some fresh clothes and shakily made my way downstairs. I was certainly feeling better; I was just a little sore - as was expected after nearly dying and all.  I caught Clary and Simon on the stairs down to the op centre. 

 

"...Can't keep me prisoner here," Simon was saying. 

"Prisoner? Wait, what Simon! Where are you going?" Clary grabbed his arm. 

"I'm going home, Clary, and if you haven't already completely drunk their Kool-Aid, then you're coming with me," Simon replied. 

"You know I can't," Clary said. 

"Yes, you can, it's not safe here," he insisted. Jace stepped out of the elevator in the entrance hall and blocked the doorway with his arms crossed.

"In fact, this is the safest place she could possibly be."  Simon was having none of it though, pointing a finger at Jace,

"You don't get to talk to me, Captain America." 

"Considering I'm the guy with the weapons, I pretty much get to say what I want."  

"Okay, come at me, bro!" Simon took a step towards him. 

"Oh, yeah?" Jace snorted. 

"Yeah!" Simon made for Jace, but Clary got in front of him, pushing him back. 

"Hey, what is your problem?" She demanded. 

"He's my problem!" He pointed at Jace again,

"He's just like Kirk Duplesse from high school. Do you remember him? Total jerk with the square jaw, smelled like body spray, always bullying people." He looked at Jace over Clary's shoulder and shouted,

"Why don't you do your own homework? Just once, yeah?" Then to Clary he added through gritted teeth,

"I can take care of myself."  Simon walked around both Clary and Jace, heading straight for the door. Clary turned to look expectantly at Jace who furrowed his eyebrows,

"I'm not saving his ass a second time."  Clary ran after Simon, and Jace caught sight of me on the stairs. He jogged over,

"Woah there, you should be in bed."  I waved him off,

"I'm fine, operated on and rune-healed. Isabelle said you have a lead on the Mortal Cup?"  Jace nodded and walked me over to a table in front of one of many large screens. Alec and Isabelle were already there, and Alec raised an eyebrow at me as if asking whether I should be out of bed, and I just shrugged in return, offering a sheepish grin. Clary joined us with a disheartened look on her face,

"Simon's gone." 

"But Bre is back, she's fine by the way," Alec snapped, Clary look startled and looked to me to defend her, but I shrugged again and turned to the screen. 

"So, Magnus Bane?" I asked.  Hodge started the run down, flicking through some pictures on the screen,

"He's over 300 years old and, as you can see, he's not exactly shied away from the pleasures of every century. His tastes are both exquisite and quite excessive. Now, Magnus is one of the most powerful warlocks I've ever known. He has a deep mistrust of Shadowhunters." 

"Well, then why did he help my mom remove my memories? Isn't she a Shadowhunter?" Clary asked. 

"Bree’s memories too," Jace added, giving Clary a pointed look. 

"Yes, one of the best - but help might not be the most accurate word," Hodge answered.

"Now, did Magnus provide a service for Jocelyn? Perhaps. But more than likely, your mother paid Magnus handsomely for his magic." Jace added,

"Warlocks usually require payment before they help anyone with anything."  

"Word from the Clave is that most of the warlocks have gone into hiding since Valentine began hunting them," Alec informed the group. 

"Valentine must be searching for the warlock, who aided Jocelyn-" Hodge seemed to choke and inhaled deeply through the pain of his burning rune. 

"So how do we find Magnus?" Clary asked, ignoring the man in pain in front of her. 

“Hodge!” I placed a hand on his arm, silently asking if he was ok.

"We don't. Magnus finds us. We'll set up a meeting, somewhere protected. Lure him out of hiding," Jace replied while I continued to rub Hodge's arm. He shot me a grateful smile just as Isabelle added to Jace's response with a smirk. 

"And I know exactly where we do it."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.XXX


	9. Chapter Eight - Magnus Bane

Isabelle jumped up from her place at the table and took over from Hodge. After a few quick taps on the screen she pulled up an invitation.  

"A Downworld rave, nice, Izzy," Jace praised. 

"And where'd you get that?" Alec asked sceptically. 

"During my surveillance of the Downworlders. From what I hear, Magnus likes to party," Isabelle said with a knowing smile.

"He'll never go for it. Not with Valentine trying to kill him." 

"Of course, he will," Jace butted in,

"He'll blend in - hide in plain sight." 

"I don't know, it's seems-” Isabelle interrupted Clary,

"Trust me, if Magnus is coming out of hiding, he's going to one of the biggest parties of the year."  

"Never underestimate Magnus' hedonism," Hodge added,

"Or his greed. Come with me." He walked over to a rune on the floor and traced it with his stele, removing the tile and revealing a necklace. Isabelle gasped at the exquisite pendant,

"A four-karat, unheated Burmese ruby," He explained,

"And this necklace has special meaning to Magnus Bane as it was a gift from him to his then lover, Camille Belcourt."  

"What, Camille and Magnus were lovers?" Clary asked. 

"Warlock gets around," Jace smirked. Hodge nodded,

"Magnus bought it in 1857 for the price of his London townhouse. Now, the jewel is enchanted by a spell that alerts the wearer to the presence of demons. Magnus has longed to reunite with this necklace. Offer it to him. He might just take the bait."  Jace started to leave.

"I'll send Magnus a fire message to arrange the meeting. We have to get to Magnus before Valentine does."  

 

Isabelle took my hand and Clary’s and led us back to her bedroom.

"Now what will you two be wearing to the Downworlder party tonight?"  I shrugged, and Clary looked down at her green tank top and jeans,

"I don't know. I was just thinking about wearing this."  Isabelle snorted,

"I don't think so. No Downworlder would be caught dead in that. Plus, it's a party, not a poetry slam." 

"Izzy neither of us have any party clothes," I said.  She considered what I said then replied,

"So, you'll have to wear mine, hmm?" She dug around in her closet for a minute then,

"Ah! Clary," She held out a small black number.  

"Okay, that dress is way too tight," Clary shook her head. 

"It's stretchy," Isabelle reasoned.

"Put it on." 

"Ugh, fine." Clary walked behind the divider before Isabelle handed her some matching heels,

"Try these."  After giving the shoes to Clary, she returned to her closet and Isabelle produced an outfit for me too. I raised an eyebrow at the short strapless, black dress with laced up sides, but took it wordlessly, knowing the struggle was futile. Isabelle place a pair of black knee-high boots just on the edge of the divider for me.  

 

After Clary came out, looking ridiculous in Isabelle's little black dress, I ducked behind the divider and slipped into my own party attire. As I walked out I declared,

"Okay, there is no way I'm wearing these heels, I would like my boots bac-" I stopped when I found no Clary and instead Alec, whose eyes grew wide as he took in my appearance. His eyes raked my smooth tanned legs before flickering to my barely covered chest for a split second. He cleared his throat and turned back to Isabelle, visibly not wanting to look away.

"Jace said you wanted to see me?" 

"Yeah, you never know what to wear to these parties either."  Alec looked down at the shirt he had on as if asking ‘what was wrong with it’ looking back to his little sister, who shook her head in a not a ‘chance are you wearing that’ way. She tossed him a denim shirt and looked at him expectantly. He glanced at me briefly, rolling his eyes at his sister. I laughed before he stripped his shirt off, replacing it with the one Isabelle gave him. It was my turn to trail my gaze down his chest, as my mouth felt dry. Isabelle smirked at the pair of us and the three of us walked to the training room, the shoe argument long forgotten.

 

Alec started inspecting his arrows straight away. 

"Alec, we're going to a Downworlders rave, you should be a little more excited," Isabelle pouted at his blatant lack of enthusiasm. 

"It's a mission, not a party," He reminded her.  

"Yeah, whatever. Before Bre and Clary got here, every day was the same. Go on a mission. Kill demons. Go on a mission. Kill demons. At least now things are interesting," she pointed out. 

"Interesting? Valentine is alive and actively seeking the Cup. He threatens our entire world. On top of that, we're gonna end up overpaying some warlock who may or may not have information we need. So, no, Izzy I don't find it interesting," Alec snapped. I went to stand next to him, and placed my hand over his, which laid flat on the cold table. I felt the tension in his muscles fade underneath my touch. I ran my thumb over his fingers gently.  Isabelle turned around and looked at her brother with a raised eyebrow,

"Feel better now?" 

"No, I don't." He looked down at the table, at our hands, then back up to Isabelle,

"Okay, maybe a little." 

"You can't keep bottling things up, Alec," She told him,

"It's only a matter of time before they explode - and not the fun kind of explode."  Alec looked down at me and took hold of the hand that was on his,

"All right let’s go." We'd started walking away, hand in hand, when he turned and looked pointedly over his shoulder at his sister and added,

"And we're not going for the music." 

 

He pulled me to one side, letting Isabelle walk on past us and quietly asked,

"I don't suppose there's even a small chance you'll listen to me if I asked you to stay behind tonight?" 

"Not likely, I mean I'm already dressed" I said with a small smile. Alec shook his head, raking his eyes over me once more,  

"No, didn't think so, just please be careful."  I feigned shock but grinned,

"I always am."  He laughed, and we caught up with the others, heading for the party. 

 

"Alec and Izzy, secure the perimeter," Jace said once we arrived, and the siblings headed off. 

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Last time we were here, this place was crawling with vampires," Clary looked around. 

"You guys have been here before?" I asked. Jace nodded, then assured Clary,

"Relax, all Downworlders hang out here. We just came on vampire night."  Alec and Isabelle came up behind us,

"All clear." 

"Do you think red's my colour?" Isabelle asked, looking down at Magnus' necklace, resting on her chest. 

"Iz, with a body like yours, everything's your colour," Clary laughed. 

"Good point. Damn, I make this necklace look so good," Isabelle touched it with a pout. 

"Will you take it off? I'm certain Magnus Bane doesn't want drool on his ruby when we make the exchange," Alec rolled his eyes at his sister's antics. 

"You know, I wouldn't be so sure. Most men like it when I admire their jewels." Jace covered up his laugh with a cough and I looked away, so my grin was unnoticed. 

"Can you just give it to Jace?" Alec sighed. Jace reached around Clary and took the necklace from Isabelle just before we were let in.

 

 It seemed the entire Downworld had turned up for this party and I wasn't so sure that we would find Magnus as easily as we'd hoped. Jace grabbed my wrist so he wouldn't lose me in the crowd and placed a hand on Clary's back, guiding her forwards. Alec and Isabelle spread out behind us and I soon lost sight of them.  

"Magnus." Jace's voice directed my attention to none other than Magnus Bane, walking towards us. The air around him shimmered as he walked. It was almost like I could see his magic. 

"Clary Fairchild," He greeted and Jace stepped aside so I was in view,

"And Breeanna, my, my, you've grown into beautiful young women." He dragged is eyes over my dress. Clary stepped up to him and tried to look intimidating,

"Magnus Bane. So, you're the one who stole my memories."  Magnus frowned,

"At your mother's request," He corrected.

"She knew the risk." He turned to Jace,

"Show me the jewellery, Shadowhunter."  Jace dangled the necklace from his hand and Magnus reached for it, but Jace jerked his hand back,

"Give the girls back their memories, and you get the jewellery."  Magnus shook his head,

"I have to confirm its authenticity." Jace reluctantly handed it over and Magnus inspected it, murmuring,

"Amor verus numquam moritur - true love cannot die. Oh, how I've missed this jewel." 

"Now, it's your turn to pay up," Clary demanded. 

"I wish I could retrieve your memories, but I no longer have them," he replied airily. 

"What? Where are they?" Clary asked with wide eyes. Magnus looked hesitant,

"I fed them to a memory demon for safekeeping. I'm afraid Breeanna's are gone forever, the demon that held hers was killed." 

"Why the hell would you do that?" Jace questioned through gritted teeth. 

"To protect Breeanna, Clary and the Cup. If Valentine ever captured me, he could torture their memories out of me. Just like he tortured Dot," Magnus turned his eyes downwards at the last part and my heart skipped a beat, fear washing over me.  I took a hasty step forward,

"Tortured? Wait, is Dot okay?"  Magnus looked like he would rather not be the one delivering the news to us, but he relented and spoke,

"You don't know? Dot is dead." 

"What? How do you know?" Clary asked, teary eyed.  Magnus sighed,

"I can't feel her magic anymore. Valentine killed her because she would not betray your mother. Girls come with me. My lair can offer you protection no Shadowhunter ever could." 

"No, I'm not going anywhere with you. Help me get my memories back from whatever demon you gave them to!" She protested. 

"Valentine isn't just hunting Warlocks, he's hunting you, too, and every moment we're outside my lair's protection, is a moment Valentine gets closer to finding us." He turned around and opened a portal before offering Clary and I each a hand,

"Come with me. I won't offer again."  

"Magnus, we really appreciate your offer," I shot a look at Clary that kept her quiet as she opened her mouth to argue again,

"But I'm not sure we can, only because if we come with you, we can't find the cup, meaning Valentine could get to it." The warlock nodded, seeing my point, and offered me a smile. 

"Look out!" I heard Isabelle shout. An arrow soared past us, straight into the chest of an approaching man. Alec ran down the stairs towards us, and examined the man, now dead on the floor as Magnus jumped through his portal and disappeared, leaving a golden cufflink in Clary's hand. She looked at me, confused but I shrugged.

"The area's secure," Isabelle informed us,

"Looks like he was the only assassin." 

"He has a Circle rune on the base of his neck," Alec said, running a finger over it. Jace cursed,

"They found us. It's not safe here. Bre, Clary, we have to go."  I took hold of Clary's hand and guided in her dazed state out a service door, following the others. 

 

Alec and Jace were arguing again once we got outside.

"We're no closer to getting the Mortal Cup, and we've lost the Institute's necklace," Alec was saying.  Clary brushed me off, so I let her stand by herself,

"I don't care about your damn jewellery. I'm sorry you're gonna look bad in front of your bosses, okay? But my mother is still missing and my last chance at finding her just disappeared into thin air."  

"Clary-" I tried, but she rounded on me next. 

"Why are you on their side?" She demanded. 

"Because I can see where they're coming from! This isn't just about us anymore Clary! Why can't you understand that it won't matter if find mum if Valentine gets the Mortal Cup? We have to help them in order for them to help us. If Valentine gets the cup, we're all doomed and I'm sick and tired of you being so self-centred, she’s not only your mother she’s mine as well, so get your head out of your ass and let Alec do his job." I snap, seeing in her eyes that my trying to reason with her wasn't getting through. So, she changed tack, completely ignoring my rant,

 "And Magnus? Magnus will never come out of hiding again while Valentine is still after him. We're never gonna find him and I will never get my memories back." She threw the cufflink to the floor but Jace caught it. 

"You give up way too easy," He said, before walking a few steps away. He pulled out his stele and traced a rune on his hand. 

"What is he doing?" Clary sounded exasperated. Alec, equally frustrated, replied,

"He's tracking Magnus. Be quiet and keep your distance." 

"The button belonged to Magnus. Jace can pinpoint the location using that." Isabelle added. Jace shook his head and turned back to us,

"The signal isn't strong enough. Magnus must be blocking the track. Let's do this, Alec." Alec walked over and obediently held out his hand. Jace placed the button in it and then clasped their hands together. 

"Do what?" Clary asked.

 "Parabatai tracking," I said, more in realisation than anything else.  

"Of course, they are," Clary said sarcastically. Jace and Alec held eye contact and remained silent. 

"When parabatais track, their power grows stronger. Jace and Alec are gonna track Magnus together," Isabelle explained.  Suddenly Jace let go of Alec's hand with a triumphant grin.

"Got him."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.XOXOX


	10. Chapter Nine - Pentagram

Still decked out in our party clothes, Jace led the way to Magnus' hideout. 

 

"Magnus' lair is right behind that fence," Jace said, pointing to a large wired fence that divided the old warehouse we were in. 

"Magnus lives in a warehouse?" Clary asked, looking around. 

"Not exactly. Warlock glamour," he explained. Isabelle held up her hand to stop us.

"Something's wrong. It's far too easy to get this close." 

"His protective wards must be down," Jace muttered. 

"You," Alec said to Clary,

"Don't get in the way."  Clary frowned and pointed to me,

"What about her?" 

"She already knows not to get in the way," He responded.

"Plus, unlike you, she knows how to use a weapon."  We saw two men fighting and ran inside. Everybody separated.

 

I discovered a little girl kneeling beside one of the two men who were just fighting,

"Daddy! Daddy? Daddy, get up, please!"  A large man with a Circle rune was coming up behind the little girl and I reacted on instinct, I kicked him in his side, effectively knocking him away from the child and pulled her behind me. 

"Breeanna Fairchild. Valentine will be so pleased to meet you," He stood facing me. I inched my hand round to my back pocket, trying to be discreet as possible. The man raised his seraph blade at the same moment my fingers closed around a knife. In one fluent motion, I flicked my wrist out from behind my back and my knife found its way into the chest of my attacker. 

"Nice job." I looked up to find Jace on a level above me, looking down ready to throw a knife of his own. 

"Thanks," I ran through a doorway, heaving the little girl onto my hip as I went.

 

I found Magnus and another member of the Circle fighting. 

"Cat's eyes," The Circle member taunted,

"Be a nice addition to my collection." He moved to attack but I moved faster, throwing a second knife. It narrowly flew past Magnus and struck the intruder in the throat. Magnus whipped around, startled, but relaxed when he saw me. His eyes softened when he saw the child I had on my back, her face buried in my neck. He nodded in thanks and led me through to the main living room - well what was left of it - where the others were gathered. 

"Hey, it's okay, you're safe now, Magnus is here," I whispered to the girl, letting her slide down off my hip and run to Magnus. 

"Go join the others, my dear," He said,

"This is no place for a little girl." He ushered her towards the remaining warlocks before turning back to me.

"What you did for Zoe... You risked your life without hesitation to save a young warlock child." His voice was laced with gratitude and a hint of surprise. 

"She was in trouble," I shrugged not really seeing anything else I could have done. 

"You always have a choice though. You're not like the others, Breeanna Fairchild. Most Shadowhunters protect Downworlders out of a sense of duty, but you saved young Zoe because of what was inside your heart."  I saw Alec listening to our conversation and could have sworn I saw a glint of pride, shining in his eyes.

"Magnus, please, you can't hide from this battle. Valentine has found you once, he will find you again. We need to work together," Clay butted in. Magnus looked like he wanted to say no, but Clary held his gaze and he heeded.

"I can summon the demon, but you must make the demand." He aimed at Clary, she nodded in understanding.

"But we're not safe here. The lair's location has been compromised." He addressed everybody.

"Hold tight, everyone, we're about to move."  Magnus raised his hands, filling the room with a blue glow. The room started to shake, and I stumbled forwards. Alec's hand shot out and closed tightly around my upper arm, keeping me from falling and didn't let go until everything stopped trembling. Magnus looked around the room with a sigh,

"Well, it's inevitable. After each move, I get the itch to redecorate." He stated as he swivelled round to face Isabelle,

"I believe in payment for services rendered." He held up the ruby necklace we gave him,

"Thank you for defending the warlocks."  Isabelle shook her head,

"I couldn't."  Magnus insisted as he placed it around her neck,

"Oh, but you could, and you should. The Lightwoods have been wearing this for years. Besides, it would look silly on your brother." She chuckled,

"Okay, so how do we summon the memory demon?" Clary was getting impatient.  Magnus looked at her,

"Are you certain? Summoning such a powerful demon could be lethal." Clary looked a little unsure but nodded anyway. Magnus shrugged,

"Okay. Pretty boy get your team ready."  Jace started to speak,

"I know what to do-" but Magnus put his hand on Jace's chest to stop him. 

"I'm not talking to you," He pointed to Alec,

"I'm talking to you." Jace looked at Alec who just shrugged, both as confused as the other. Magnus then pointed at Clary,

"Come with me."  He took Clary through a door on the left and Alec turned to me, taking one of my hands between both of his,

"Only five of us can be part of this, please, sit out of this one?" 

"Alec-" I stared, unsure if it was the best option. 

"Please, Breeanna, you're still weak, it's dangerous as it is, but in your state, it could kill you. Please," Alec was on the verge of begging. I knew he still felt guilty about what happened, so I placed my free hand on his shoulder and nodded. He heaved out a sigh filled with relief just as Clary's scream pierced the air. I made to run for her, but Alec kept a tight grip on my hands. I looked at him ready to tell him to let me go but he shook his head.

"Jace is drawing the required rune, it's powerful which also means it’s painful, but she'll be okay," He assured me. He released my hands when Magnus returned. 

"We're ready," he said, taking us through to the room Jace, Clary and Isabelle had disappeared into.

"Everyone take your rightful place on the pentagram. Which one of you will be excluded?" 

"Breeanna," Alec said firmly before anyone else could say a word. Jace raised an eyebrow and Isabelle smirked to herself. Clary looked like she didn't know what to do with herself so Jace moved her to one of the points before taking his own place. 

"We must initiate a bond," Magnus instructed.

"Once this bond is sealed, it cannot be broken until the demon retreats. So, no matter what happens, we must not let go of each other's hands." Everybody took hold of the hands of the people next to them and I could physically see the bond lock them into place.

"I will lead the ceremony, and you all must do exactly as I say. The demon's name is Valak and at some point, he will ask for payment in exchange for Clary's memories." 

"What do you mean? What kind of payment?" Jace asked. Magnus shrugged,

"We will see. But first, Breeanna, it's not safe for you to be in the room." I gave Clary a nod of encouragement before leaving. 

 

I could feel the presence of the demon from the next room and I heard a lot of shouting. The shouting got louder, and I heard Isabelle yelling for somebody to hold on and I heard Clary scream that she was trying to. I heard Magnus shout,

"No!" Clary screamed, and I heard Isabelle,

"Jace! Grab him! Grab him!" I didn't sound like the ceremony was going to plan so I sprinted in to join them and saw Jace in the clutches of a swirling demon, and Alec and Isabelle trying to pull him back. Clary was curled in the corner as if she'd been thrown against the wall, and Magnus was desperately trying to contain the demon with his magic. 

"Bree! Help us!" Isabelle saw me. 

"Breeanna! If you kill the demon Clary's memories will be lost forever! That's what happened to yours! I won't be able to get them back!" Magnus shouted. I looked to Clary who screamed for me to do it, so I pulled out my seraph blade and ran towards the demon. I managed to wield my sword straight through the centre of it, and its glowed orange for a moment before turning to dust, dropping Jace, who fell unconscious to the floor. Clary ran straight to Jace and knelt down next to him,

"Jace oh my God, Jace. Is he gonna be all right?" She looked up to Magnus questionably. 

"I don't know; does he normally just lay like that without moving?" He replied unhelpfully causing me to swallow a laugh. Suddenly Jace started gasping for air as if he'd been held underwater.

"I'm all right. I'm all right. I'm just getting my second wind." 

"Oh, thank God, you're okay," Clary fretted.

"For a second there, I thought we lost you."  As soon as I could see that Jace was okay, I went straight over to Alec who was sitting against the wall, breathless from the struggle, and dizzy from being thrown back. I crouched down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?"  He looked up at me and smiled, nodding, before closing his eyes and resting his head back against the wall. I rubbed his shoulder a little, letting out a small sigh of relief. Looking around at the others, I saw Magnus, Jace and Isabelle watching me with a smile that said I know something you don't. This wasn't the time for that though, and so I helped Alec up before helping the girls lift Jace, letting him lean on me for support until he regained his balance.

Once he was steady, I left Clary to guide him out and turned to Magnus. 

"I don't know what went wrong, but thank you, for trying to help us," I said. He nodded, and I backed away with a final wave, towards Alec who was waiting by the door for me. He rested a hand on my back and led me from the warlock's lair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reding


	11. Chapter Ten - Maryse Lightwood

I sat on the edge of my bed, my back to the door, looking out the window into the starry night sky. The stars that littered the vast span of midnight blue sky were dulled by the haze of the city lights. I felt a shift in the weight of my bed snapping me out of the trance and looked to my left. Alec had sat down beside me. 

"Hey," He greeted softly.

"Hey," I smile in return. 

"How are you doing?" He asked. 

"I'm fine, I’m not the one that got thrown around by a demon," I pointed out. He chuckled,

"Yeah I guess, you know, that move you did - launching into the tornado, that was pretty impressive," he nudged my shoulder teasingly,

"You must have one hell of an instructor." He referred to himself with a smirk.

"I didn't even know what I was doing. I just saw the panic, and everybody was yelling different things at me and... I just acted," I shrugged. 

"Breeanna, you killed one of the Greater Demons. There are not a lot of Shadowhunters who can make that claim," He encouraged, 

"Plus, you saved Jace's life." 

"Yeah, but in killing that demon, I lost Clary's memories forever. Now we're never going to find the Mortal Cup," I sighed, frustration flooded me. 

"Hey, we will get the Cup - before Valentine," He assured me,

"And, it will be a hell of a lot easier, with Jace alive, so there's that."  I smiled,

"There's that," I repeated. I sighed and rested my head on Alec's shoulder,

"Thank you."  Alec wrapped his arm around my shoulder,

"For?"

“Being here, Being you.” 

 

Jace was walking so fast down the hall he nearly knocked me right over. He caught me just in time and steadied me. 

"Woah there, In a hurry?" I asked I saw his jaw was set tightly and I tilted my head,

"Everything okay?" 

"Alec took Clary's necklace," He said angrily. 

"What? Why?" I was confused. 

"Because Valentine was talking to her through it," He replied through gritted teeth. 

"Real, actual, my father, Valentine?" Jace nodded. 

"I don't want to have this discussion again, I'm going to the training room, care to join?" He offered. I agreed and followed him as he made his way to the training room. 

 

"Jace, can I ask you something?" I looked up at him as we made our way through the halls. 

"Yeah anything, what is it?" He replied, glancing down at me. 

"What happened when you tried to summon the demon to get Clary's memories back? How did it go so wrong?" I had been thinking about it since we'd gotten back. Jace sighed, then started to explain.

"The demon was more powerful than I think Clary had anticipated, and it was really difficult to hold on. Clary let go of Isabelle's hand for a split second, but that was all it took for her to break the bond. Everyone was thrown back but it drew Alec back in. I pushed him out of the way and it grabbed me instead. Then that's when you came running in," he looked at me and then nudged my shoulder trying to cover his lie by lightening the mood a little,

"And sent it straight back to hell." I laughed just as we reached the training room. 

"All right, weapon of choice?" Jace asked as he jumped over a table to reach for a seraph blade. I reached for my belt, whipping it off in one fluid motion, and snapped it into the Bo staff. Jace looked back at me,

"Okay then," he chuckled. I could already feel some of his tension wearing off and I grinned,

"Ready?"  Jace lunged forward with his blade but I was expecting it, Alec doing the same thing the first time we had trained together. I blocked him and swiftly landed a hit on his exposed side with the blunt end of my staff. He continued attacking, pushing me backwards until he came forth with a particularly heavy blow that I barely managed to block. In blocking it, I used his bodyweight that he threw behind it to push him to one side and stepped around him, so I was behind him. He whipped around with a proud grin on his face, nodding in approval. We took a few steps back towards the centre of the room, spinning our respective weapons round before I went to strike again. I landed a few blows on him, quickly picking up on his pattern before I switched from defence to offence. We grappled for power until he took a swing at my head and I ducked. Seeing my opportunity, I took out both of his legs from underneath him with one sweep, knocking him off his feet and holding the bladed end of my weapon to his throat.  Jace tapped the ground in defeat and I twirled my staff around like a baton before letting it slacken and coil itself back around my waist and helping him up. 

"Well," He laughed,

"You're really good." 

“I had a good teacher.” I caught three figures standing by the edge of the training room watching us. I identified the bright red hair before any of the faces and then also saw Isabelle, standing beside my sister, but I didn't recognise the third lady. Jace clearly did though - his face split into a wide smile and he hurried over to her. 

"Maryse. Hey," He gave the lady, Maryse, a hug,

"It's great to see you. How's everyone in Idris? Where's, uh where's Max?"  Isabelle walked up and stood next to Jace,

"No Max. Just Mom with her hair on fire."  Alec joined us a second later, hugging his mother then moving to stand beside me.

"Mother. Welcome back, we didn't expect you. This is-” Maryse cut Alec off as he gestured to me,

"I know who she is. Yes, Breeanna Fairchild, Valentine's daughter." I looked up at Alec, slightly taken aback at her apparent immediate dislike for me. He shook his head, offering a small smile that said don't worry about it and placed a hand on my shoulder. Maryse raised an eyebrow at her son's gesture but didn't acknowledge it any further.

"You should be prepared, whether you expect me or not."  Alec frowned,

"I am. We are."  Maryse carried on as though he'd said nothing,

"We will talk about the Institute later. Right now, we have a bigger problem; the Seelie's have stopped communicating with the Clave and won't explain why." She stopped and looked at us for a moment to make sure we were all listening,

"My guess is they're still upset we asked them to send scouts to look for Valentine, but no one in their realm will talk." 

"I have Seelie friends-" Isabelle said. 

"Yes, I know about your friends," she wrinkled her nose in distaste before approaching her daughter,

"Isabelle, we stay separate from the Downworld for good reasons. The wrong move, the wrong word, do you think there is such a thing as harmless rebellion? Who knows what offends these creatures? Maybe you told him- them something they shouldn't know. Maybe you trod on one of their ridiculous customs without knowing it."  "Wait, wait. I don't understand. You're laying all this on Izzy for having a friend in the Downworld?" Jace asked incredulously. Maryse turned to him,

"When someone upsets the natural order, everything falls apart." 

"Natural order?" Clary looked confused,

"What are you saying?" 

"I can help," Isabelle said, stepping forwards,

"I know how to talk to Seelies.”  Alec agreed with his sister,

"She's right. She can visit Meliorn and see what he knows. I could go with her if you want." 

"I'd rather Jace goes along this time," Maryse decided, and both Alec and Jace frowned,

"Alec, you stay with the Fairchild girls. I want them under control - they've caused enough trouble already." 

"Maybe that's because I wasn't even a Shadowhunter until a few days ago!" Clary protested.

“We.” I corrected, frustrated at being ignored once again. Maryse turned to her with a raised eyebrow,

"And what an exciting few days it has been. The Clave counts on us Lightwoods to maintain order here."  Alec shook his head,

"You don't need to tell me that." He waved his hand around,

"If the mission is important to the Clave, I would prefer to be the one who goes with Isabelle."  Maryse gave a smile that was anything but friendly,

"Yes, you're all so eager to do what you would prefer. It's time to face the truth," She said. Briefly glancing at Alec and meI, where his hand remained on my shoulder, and added,

"Life is not about what you want to do, it's about what must be done." She turned to the rest of the group,

"I have given you your assignments, now carry them out. You and you," she pointed harshly at Jace and Isabelle,

"with me, now."  After Maryse turned on her heel and walked away, followed by Jace and Isabelle - who exchanged almost fearful glances - Clary looked at Alec.

"Well, that was a window into the weird. What did you do to piss off your mom?"  He closed his eyes and let out a breath, before glaring at Clary.

"I'd guess, for a start, all the unsanctioned missions on your behalf didn't go over that big with the Clave." He turned from her and walked across to the other side of the training room, leaning against a table and rubbing a hand over his face. 

"Why is he always like that? He just doesn't like me!" Clary threw her hands up in the air. 

"Alec doesn't like anyone," I pointed out. 

"He likes you," She waved her hand in my direction. I just shrugged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you or reading. i hope you enjoyed. i try to post weekly.


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